LAHORE – Ambassador of Indonesia Ishaq Latuconsina has said delay in signing of preferential trade agreement (PTA) is hitting the two-way trade between Pakistan and Indonesia. Both the countries would have to adopt out-of-the-box methodologies to harness the trade and business potential in the two countries and to increase bilateral trade.
The Ambassador was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Friday. He also stressed the need to exchange subject specialists and sector specific experts so that both the countries could be able to learn more from each other’s experiences. Latuconsina said that sharing of experiences had no match when we talked of any specific product or trade with any country so Pakistan and Indonesia must share their experiences in the larger interests of the business communities in the two countries.
He said Pakistani businessmen in general and the LCCI members in particular should participate in international exhibition scheduled for October this year to expedite business relations between the two countries as Indonesia’s markets are not very much familiar with Pakistani merchandise.
He also urged the LCCI President to arrange a delegation for another exhibition of auto parts being held from March 21 to March 23 as the exhibition would help bring the auto parts manufacturers closer. The Ambassador said that it was very encouraging that as many as 230 businessmen from Lahore visited Indonesia this year as compared to 110 in 2009.
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Shahzad Ali Malik said that Pakistan and Indonesia were the two most populous countries of the Muslim world. These two countries together have a population of over 410 million and constitute about 25 percent of the total Muslim population of the world. Both the countries are bonded together by old historical links and enjoy cordial relations based on commonality of religion.
The LCCI President said that although the trade between Pakistan and Indonesia had been gradually growing but it was still at a very low level in view of the size of the markets of the two countries. He said that Pakistan’s trade deficit with Indonesia had increased owing to a faster increase in imports from Indonesia compared with exports to Indonesia.
Shahzad Ali Malik said that a lot of progress could be made on trade front through identification of new tradable items between the two countries. To cater to the requirements of Pakistani markets, rubber, rubber products, accessories of motor vehicles could be exported by Indonesia, whereas Pakistan has a comparative advantage in textile, surgical instruments, leather products, sports goods, some fruits, vegetables and rice etc., which can be exported to Indonesia on a larger scale.
He said the goal of enhancing trade could be achieved through active engagement of the chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries, frequent exchange of economic and trade delegations to identify the areas of mutual interest, arranging of single country exhibitions and socio-cultural programs in each other’s country.
The establishment of a joint business forum comprising representatives of chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries with enhanced business-to-business contacts could be helpful in giving much-needed boost to the bilateral trade.
The LCCI President said that a lot of scope exists for Indonesia to make investment in Pakistan as Indonesia has a fairly advanced petrochemical, rubber, plywood, telecommunication and tourism industry.
LCCI Senior Vice President Sheikh Mohammad Arshad and Executive Committee Member Mian Zahid Javaid and Chairman Skill Development Council Rehmatullah Javed also spoke on the occasion.
